TIGGER-FAN
New Member
Originally posted by tazhughes
Tigger-Fan if you had been the officer responding and closed it out you would have been wrong. You are a police officer not an officer of the court and it is not your role to interpret the law. What Merlin did was in fact a Battery and if you need a couple "big" cases to read on topic try Vosburg v. Putney (a landmark case on the issue where a child tapped another child with his foot under a desk) or White v. University of Idaho (a professor 'played piano' [ie. lightly tapped] on the back of a student and the court held the claim valid despite lack of intent to harm or offend). Now that we have established that there is some validity to Woody's claim (though I hate agreeing with him) the reality is that these claims hold up on the civil side and a judge or prosecutor (again not a police officer) will likely dismiss unless there is more to this then Merlin is telling us like the force with which he tapped. Hwever if the CM wanted to bring a civil suit there would be a line of lawyers to take up the case especially since Disney would be enjoined in this case as well. The 2 lessons here: 1.don't touch strangers especially if you and that stranger have been confrontational and 2. Police officers should not try to make decisions that should be left to court officers or juries.
I respect your opinion, however you are talking apples and oranges. Law Enforcement does not work civil cases. Civil cases are handled by lawyers. Even if Merlin was found guilty in a civil case, he would not be burdened by a criminal record.